Going Forward

"So to sum up your overly long-winded exposition: You got attacked by the Sludge Villain, then All Might saved you. When he tried to jump away, you grabbed onto him and got dragged along. You asked All Might if you could be a hero, and he said no. Then you got mad and told him that you'll be a hero, and that if he didn't believe in you he could go to hell. Then you stormed off and the rest is what I saw on the video. That right?"

Midoriya blinks at me, only now realizing how much he could have shortened his explanation. Really, it was so long that we managed to finish our meal when he was only halfway done. He had a burger, and I had fish and rice. Stiffly, he nods.

I take a moment to think, leaning back in my chair and chewing on my straw as I do. Then I smirk. "His reputation is going to take a pretty big hit after this~." At his uncomprehending look, I explain.

"There were videos of All Might chasing the Sludge Villain, so people are aware that All Might failed to catch him. Then when the villain took someone hostage, he was nowhere to be found. Finally, some quirkless boy comes in and teaches Death Arms, basically a weaker All Might, how to beat the villain. At the very least, people aren't going to think that he's all powerful anymore."

'Not that the government will let his image get tarnished too much. If their precious 'Symbol of Peace' gets too much bad publicity, I'm sure that they'll step in. Probably try to shift the media's attention on Midoriya. Either to praise his support of the heroes, or to shame him for interfering in hero work.'

Shaking my head to clear away my disparaging comments, I look at the dumbstruck Midoriya. I've known him for a good deal of time, so I can tell when he's going to be stuck like this for a while. Luckily, I managed to develop a special technique to unfreeze him.

I grab my untouched glass of water and throw it in his face.

Sputtering, he glares at me. I shrug. "You froze again. Anyways, did I miss anything? How did the heroes react after the Sludge Villain was taken down?"

He glares for another moment before sighing. "Well, they were impressed!" His face lights up, and I'm once again doubtful about him being quirkless as I almost think that there's actual light shining off of him as he talks.

"Death Arms and Kamui Woods even told me that I could be a good supporter for them! Also, when I mentioned that I'm planning to apply to UA, they offered to let me intern with them when I'm allowed!"

I chuckle at his exuberance. "And what about the other heroes? Oh, and did you show them your notebook?"

He nods, pulling it out. He's on notebook number thirteen now, and his analytical skills have only improved after he started studying villain's quirks as well as heroes. I think that he's on villain notebook three or four now.

He rapidly flips through the notebook, pausing to blink at a certain page with a complicated expression. At my questioning look, he shows me. Across two pages, 'ALL MIGHT' is written in big blocky letters. There's also a pair of bushy eyebrows on shadowed eyes. It looks like something a kid would draw, honestly.

I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Were you working on forging All Might's autograph or something?" I shake my head in mock disappointment. "Not very hero-like. Though if you get good at it, you could probably sell them for pretty good money."

Not that I'd need it. Between Himiko and I's semi-weekly hunts, and that place she introduced me to, I could probably afford to build my own home. Fill it with cat-nip and an obstacle course…

My eyes get a far-off look when I think about getting my hands on some catnip. It's a recent development, since it didn't affect me when I was younger. But the effect is… exquisite.

I yowl as I'm hit by a cup's worth of water, hissing as I glare at Midoriya. He simply smirks at me. "You froze again. Just returning the favor."

I snort. "You've gotten kind of cheeky recently. It's an improvement over how you were when we first met. You could barely get a sentence out if it wasn't about heroes or quirks." He blushes as I continue. "And when I gave you my number? You shouted so loud that you startled the hero who was nearby!"

"I wasn't that bad!" He denies my claim, but I smirk, shaking my head.

"No, you really did startle him. I saw him jerk his head in your direction when Himiko and I were leaving."

"Really!?" His eyes widen in shock before planting his head in his hands. "That's so embarrassing."

I chuckle. "Well, ignoring your improvements in socializing, any new plans now that you're moving up in the world?"

He gets a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well, before I shouted at All Might, he did say something that got me thinking. Even before I become a hero, there's some good that I can do." He pulls out his phone and taps through it before pointing the screen at me.

On the screen is a picture of a beach absolutely covered in garbage. "I was looking at some community service stuff to do, and came across an article about this place, Takoba Beach. Apparently it used to be a beautiful place to visit, but then tides brought in a bunch of trash. After a while, people thought that it was a dump and started leaving their own junk there. I was thinking of cleaning it up."

I take a closer look at the picture. It seems to mainly be heavy things that are there. 'Fridges, washing machines, and is that a car? People really went crazy with dumping their stuff there. But you know what they say…'

I look at him. "What do you plan to do with all the garbage?"

"I was going to throw it away? Well, the big ones I plan to drag to the dump with a cart. I think that it'll be good training!"

I nod. "Or, you could experiment."

He tilts his head. "Experiment?"

"That's right. You have a veritable gold mine of abandoned electronics. If you study up on support gear, you could probably manage to make some stuff for yourself to use during the entrance exam. Or you could try and convince some rookie inventor to help you."

His eyes sparkle. "That's a great idea! Along with letting quirkless people take the entrance exam, UA is also letting them bring in a single piece of equipment to help them. Sort of to even the playing field."

"There you go! Clean the beach, get some equipment made. If you don't manage to figure something out yourself, let me know. I've got some connections I can call to help you out. There's just one problem."

"What's that?"

I turn around the notebook he seems to have forgotten that he handed to me. The page I turn to has a drawing of what I think is his hero costume idea. But I can only describe it as a rabbit with a mask. "We need to fix your hero costume."

He looks shocked. "What's wrong with it!? It was inspired by All Might!"

'I didn't know that, but it's just another thing wrong with it.'

"The mask is meant to be his smile, and when taken in with the hair strands, it will put people at ease since it will remind them of All Might!"

I take another look at it, raising an eyebrow. "Those are hair strands? I thought they were rabbit ears."

"No!"

I give him a teasing look. "Are you sure? Maybe your hero name could be Midosagi."

"That sounds cool, but still no!"